Since 1915
Voi. 89, NO. 5
October 9, 2003
Pasadena City College
Recall
News:
‘Great Masters of
Mexican Plastic
Art’ hits Pasadena
Sports:
Walking
toward
another loss
Bonnie Selders and
A.J. Campa
Staff Writers
Arnold Schwarzenegger won
the race for governor Tuesday in
the first-ever statewide recall elec¬
tion in California. Voters fired Gov.
Gray Davis and replaced him with
the box-office star.
Students expressed mixed emo¬
tions about the election.
"I didn't watch TV because of
the recall," said Hunnee Vathan, a
21-year-old PCC student. She
explained that she didn't care for
the recall and is relieved it's over.
"Technically it's over," said stu¬
dent David Juarez, 21. The illustra¬
tion major added, "It seems like
Schwarzenegger is all talk; he does¬
n't seem very intelligent."
Despite allegations of fondling
women and questions about his
ability to lead, Schwarzenegger
easily defeated his next-closest
competitor, Lt. Gov. Cruz
Bustamante. Finishing a distant
third was Republican Tom
McClintock, who refused to bow
out despite calls from his party to
do so.
The only suspense for
Schwarzenegger was whether
Davis would beat the recall.
That was quickly answered.
Within minutes of the polls clos¬
ing, news channels such as CNN
and Fox News as well as radio and
Internet outlets declared the recall
a success.
"I'm glad the controversy is
over," said Maria Pao, 20, an
English major who described the
recall election as bad politics. "The
name-calling and accusations
should stop now, and California's
problems should be addressed."
Kathryn Burdett, a 22 year-old
business major and supporter of
Schwarzenegger, also said she is
happy the election is over.
Yet despite the general relief
that the recall was done, some stu¬
dents were split on the results.
"I expected Arnold to win, but I
didn't want to support him," said
Pao, who explained that she voted
for Green party candidate Peter
Camejo.
"The idea of the recall was to
get someone better in office,"
Juarez said. "I don't think we did
that."
Feature:
New VP Lisa
Sugimoto
comes home
Hoyen Tsang/Courier
The Running Man Wins: Arnold Schwarzenegger takes California after completing a whirl-wind campaign. One of his
last stops before election day was in Arcadia at the Los Angeles Arboretum last Friday.
Schwarzenegger Ousts Davis in
Emergency Loans Help Students Through college Hour in Danger
Hard limes, Delays in financial Aid Checks Bfina Can?!let!
Rita Vega-Acevedo
Senior Staff Writer
Students may apply for an
Emergency Loan at PCC, begin¬
ning Oct. 31, but don't expect to
get a huge check.
Students may apply for either
a $100 book loan, $75 for
expenses or for both funds.
Applicants must be taking a mini¬
mum of three units at PCC and
cannot owe back fees or fines.
"It can help students who are
in a bind," said Tsianina Sturges,
student affairs assistant.
Approximately $10,000 is dis¬
tributed to students each semes¬
ter she said. More than 226 stu¬
dents have received loans this fall.
The Emergency Loan Program
was established in the 1970s, but
most students haven't heard of it
or understand how it works.
Many students discover the
program by talking to counselors
The five-week wait for financial aid
checks came to an end when most students
received their much-needed funds. The
glitches in the L.A County system were
finally ironed out last week. Students who
had a change of address may not have got¬
ten their checks; they should pick them up
at the student bank.
and administrators.
Additional information about
the program is on the college
website or is buried in the fine
print of the PCC Catalog.
Persistent students can also scav¬
enge through brochures in the
financial aid office.
Even if you receive financial
aid, you may apply for an emer¬
gency loan. However, loans must
be repaid in 30 days whether or
not financial aid checks are late.
Student Affairs can extend pay¬
ment to 60 days, but waivers must
be approved in writing.
Students Affairs distributes
emergency loans all year round.
However, a student can only get a
maximum of two loans each
semester.
"The majority of students pay
their loans back," said Sturges.
The fund is like a revolving door
based on the honor system. As
loans are repaid, they can quickly
be distributed to the next group
of students. If students don't pay,
the door remains closed or stalled.
Penalties for non-repayment
include withholding students'
grades, diplomas and transcripts.
PCC can also prevent students
from adding, dropping or regis¬
tering for future classes. In a worst
case scenario, students may be
contacted by a collection agency.
The Emergency Loan program
is funded by sales from the book¬
store, vending machines and cam¬
pus food services.
The Associated Students sup¬
ports the program and sees it as a
way to encourage students to stay
in college.
Applications for a loan are
available in Student Affairs, sec¬
ond floor in the Campus Center
building. Funds are distributed on
a first-come-first-serve basis.
The process involves filling out
a one page application, having a
PCC Lancer card and a class print¬
out. "Students who get an emer¬
gency loan can get a check within
a day or two," said Sturges.
Program Offers to Clean Slate for
MP3
Users
Linda Rapka
Entertainment Editor
Delete all the mp3s on your
computer, or you're gonna get
sued!
This is the new scare tactic
employed by the Recording
Industry Association of America.
Now notorious for the recent law¬
suits brought against
mp3
fileshar-
ers, the RIAA hopes that the fear of
being sued will keep people from
downloading illegal mp3s. It also
hopes to scare people into partici¬
pating in its new endeavor, the
Clean Slate Program.
The RIAA promises not to sue
anyone who signs the Clean Slate
Program affidavit and admits hav¬
ing downloaded illegal mp3s from
peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, such
as Kazaa and Morpheus. Available
at the RIAA website
www.riaa.com, the affidavit states
that the RIAA agrees not to file
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copyright infringement suits
against anyone who signs.
People must also delete any
copies of mp3s obtained from P2P
networks on their computer as well
destroy any CDs burned from such
mp3s. The affidavit must then be
signed and notarized.
Seems like a big hassle, but it's
worth avoiding a lawsuit, right?
Not quite, say some groups like the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF), which heralds itself as an
organization dedicated to preserv¬
ing people's rights on the digital
front. It warns people to stay away
from the Clean Slate Program, stat¬
ing that it won't really prevent you
from being sued.
Although the affidavit promises
participants amnesty from RIAA
lawsuits, nowhere in the affidavit
does it say anything about
mp3
filesharers being provided amnesty
from any other person or entity.
EFF points out that copyright hold¬
ers would still be free to sue.
The RIAA states on its website
that information obtained from
the Clean State Program "will not
be made public or given to third
parties, including individual copy¬
right owners." However, it goes on
to say that your private informa¬
tion will be legally shared if
"required by law."
Priscilla Moreno
Managing Editor
The Tuesday and Thursday noon
hour normally set aside for club
activities may be on its way out. The
College Coordinating
Council (CCC) suggested
ending the "college
hour" and scheduling
classes during that time.
College hour is the
chunk of time, tradi¬
tionally set aside for
clubs to meet through¬
out campus and host
events such as concerts
in the quad. It is a vir¬
tual "free period"
where no classes take
place, and it is the only
time amplified sound is
permitted on campus.
The CCC is a committee that
advises the board of trustees about
concerns of students, staff, and fac¬
ulty on campus. However, it was a
board member who suggested can¬
celing college hour to make room to
schedule more classes.
AS vice president for internal
affairs Cynthia Gonzalez expressed
serious concern over the possibility
of losing this time.
In a letter passed out at the inter-
dub council meet¬
ing on Friday, Oct.3,
Gonzalez outlined
her reasons for
wanting to keep
college hour alive. If
college hour gets
replaced with
classes in session
then events, meet¬
ings and extra-cur¬
ricular activities will
not be able to occur,
the form reads.
Gonzalez asked
Gonzales the club representa¬
tives present to turn
in a form giving three reasons why
college hour was important to them.
They were asked to return
the form at tomorrow's ICC
meeting. Gonzalez plans to
take the infor- See page
3
FBI Searches College For
Suspected SUV Vandalizer
Terrance Parker
Copy Editor
An ELF e-mailed the Los Angeles
Times from the PCC campus and
from Caltech Sept. 18, claiming to
have vandalized and destroyed sev¬
eral SUVs throughout the San
Gabriel Valley in August.
The Earth Liberation Front
member was responding to the
Sept. 12 arrest by the FBI of Josh
Connole on suspicion of vandalism
and arson. The e-mails claimed that
authorities had the wrong person
in custody and included details
known only to law enforcement
and the perpetrators.
FBI agents visited both cam¬
puses Sept. 19. They were able to
examine the computers at
Caltech, but not at PCC, according
to Richard Smith of the West
Covina FBI office.
"The system there did not
allow us to examine the comput¬
ers," Smith said. "Not the people,
they were cooperative. But the
computer system makes it hard
for us to examine it."
Several Valley car dealerships
were vandalized Aug. 21. Over
120 SUVs were burned or spray-
painted before dawn.
Messages left at the crime
scenes claimed to be from the ELF,
an environmental group whose
website lists guidelines for ELF
actions "Economic sabotage and
property destruction fall within
these guidelines," accord¬
ing to http://earthlibera-
tionfront.com/about/.
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